Déviation
by icarly1969
Summary: The first rebellion failed. Their successors tried again. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratic. This time, unseen, other forces, dark forces, were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

_This is my first fanfiction and it is going to be a huge fic, so I'm kind of apprehensive. It's going to be a Percy/Nico fanfic, although there will be tons of other characters and pairings along the way and the romance development will be slow. I would really appreciate reviews to let me know how I'm doing with the story, especially what's going on, I let some of my friends read my plot and they said it got a little confusing... so let me know if it gets too confusing and twisted. Also, there will be weird pairings, but I'll sort them out eventually... they are there for a reason._

_I made a map and some family trees in case you need to keep track of the characters, and I'll post up a link somehow sometime later when I can figure out how to make them work. This story is inspired by "A Tale of Love and Thrones" by XTheSonofHadesX, and it is loosely based on Korean Drama Jumong._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, especially the characters in the story. I just used names that came to me. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Jumong, Ranger's Apprentice, Beyonders, Dormia, Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Avengers, Eragon and Google Translate(I used that to generate family names)_

_Warnings: For pairings, there will be Yaoi and Yuri, and then there will be Guy/Girl. You could ignore them, but since the main pairing is Percy/Nico, you would probably be better off not reading. There's going to be character deaths, and out of characters for pretty much everyone unless you refer to the fanfic I was inspired by, and even then, there might be discrepancies. There may be fluff, wine, language, and some mature-rated content eventually. Also, this work is un-beta'd, as such, there might be horrendous run-on sentences._

_Summary: Almost everyone knew that the person sitting on the throne does not belong there. They did nothing, though. Everyone heard of the rebellion that has happened and failed. And everyone knew what happened to those that joined. Perhaps they knew not who was the leader and what happened to the person, but they knew enough to know that joining the second wave, led by a successor, is dangerous - you only join if it's the last option. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratics. This time, unseen, other forces were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive._

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"

Prologue:

"Father, we cannot hold our grounds. Apollo and his people are few, and the NightWatch is stretched thin, we have so few new members now that our existence is only known to our own people in Tartarus and those few populating Olympus that survived the fire. The West Wall will fall if we do not provide assistance."

"You know that what happens at the Wall do not concern the Di Angelos or the people of Tartarus. I cannot command the people to assist the NightWatch in defending the Wall, be it East, Centre or West. Furthermore, the only people in Mirage Exilé, land beyond the Wall, are those wild, unorganized tribesmen. Surely your people can hold against them. Unless there truly are supernatural in the beyond, like the rumours say."

"They have became organised. We suspect someone behind them, but we are no closer to finding out who is the brains behind this. All I am asking for is a few good fighters to help. Currently there are only seven of us from the NightWatch and the twenty-three from Apollo's party here, the rest of the NightWatch still has to guard the East and Centre Walls. We plan on infiltrating their base to destroy their provisions, then hope they die out from hunger. If they don't, at least we would have slowed down their invasion by some time, hopefully."

"A few good fighters. Theseus, you know who are the best fighters present here. You really would ask them to risk their lives to fight with you for you and the NightWatch? Do not forget that Anubis is already leading the party of fifteen to Olympus."

"They will not be fighting for me, father. They will be fighting for the whole of Tartarus, even the whole of Déviation. Offer them the choice. If they decline, I will not push, but we need the help."

"Very well. I draw the line at Hazel being drawn into the conflict, and Zagareus is needed here to do his duty."

"Thank you for your assistance."

"Do not thank me. This is not something to be thankful for."

* * *

-In Olympus-

Apollo sighed. Ganymede was working himself ragged on patrols to ensure that the tribesmen stay on the right side of the wall - the other side. However, the reports were not good. Their numbers were amassing, and there was evidence of someone actually with some brain cells behind their activities, although whoever it was did not show up on the camps. 'Never mind. Burning down their provisions would slow them down for a while, at least, if nothing else. Hopefully they will get burned too.'

The other thing troubling him was the report from Anubis, stating that a party from the NightWatch on the East side had went missing and was never seen again. They had came across one member, Boreas, but he did not remember anything, not even where he was when his party disappeared. Then, they were ambushed by some of the tribesmen, which further proved that there was someone behind the scene - those tribesmen were not smart or united enough to come up with this sort of coordinated attack. Anubis, Boreas and Charon, Hades' steward, survived and made it to Castle Araluen, the NightWatch stronghold. The report was sent to him through Ammit, Anubis' wolf.

He could never understand the bond between a Di Angelo and his wolf. From what he knew, each Di Angelo was given their wolf on their first birthday as a companion for them to cherish. They are as loyal to their wolves as their wolves were to them. Also, they are known as direwolves, special beasts only the Di Angelos possessed as they would not die of old age like normal wolves or pets, as they were life partners. They age as their owners did. They could be killed, yes, but they were clever and quick. There were eight in the family's pack, from what Anubis told him. Only the children bearing the Di Angelo name could have the wolves. Which means that the children of the girls in the Di Angelo family will not be given wolves.

There was Anubis' wolf, Ammit. Ammit was a grey wolf with a small build that ran very fast. He is the fastest in the pack. Cerberus was Hades' wolf. He was the Alpha wolf, the largest by far, and he was most likely capable of wiping out a squadron of soldiers on his own. The youngest daughter, Hazel, was illegitimate, but still a Di Angelo, as such, she had a wolf. Luna blended in perfectly at night as she was pure black and silent. Not as quiet as Lupa, Nico's wolf, though. Nico was the last son of Maria, who died at childbirth. He was also the one Apollo knew the least about. His sister, Bianca, was sly, as is her wolf, Nymeri. Nymeri would lure the attention of the enemy so that Bianca could sneak up on them to slit their throats. Theseus, third oldest, had Snow. Like his name suggested, Snow blended in very well with the snow often covering the ground in Tartarus. Save for his red eyes, one would never know he was there. Morgrem belonged to Zagareus, eldest male in the generation. He was a lot like Cerberus and while two wolves like that would often fight in the wild, the two of them got along fine. Occasionally, they would still fight, but, thankfully, they do it outside in the woods. The eldest daughter, Macaria, has Auguste, third largest wolf in the pack. She is a majestic looking wolf just as deadly and fierce as Macaria. However, Macaria left the family earlier on - nine, maybe eight years ago, going back and forth when she pleased. She had fallen in love with Eros La Rue of Fiamme di Guerra, and they were wed, although she never revealed her family to him. How she explained the wolf was unknown, although Apollo was present for their marriage seven years ago. Right after that, he left with his people to complete the task his father left him. From what he knew, she kept in contact with her family through her wolf and that Lady liked it in Fiamme di Guerra as the La Rue children liked her.

The fact remained, though, that they could be overrun any moment. There was only twenty-three of them, with seven from Theseus' party minus Theseus himself, the three remaining from Anubis' party, and, if they were lucky, some of the other Di Angelo children. The only reason the enemy have not attacked was probably due to the fact that they were not aware of what was going on the other side of the wall, thus believing that Olympus still stands and they need a great army to storm the place.

'Please, get here faster. Time is running out.'

* * *

-In Anulēt-

"This is the thirtieth time you missed your royal duties, Perseus. Hercules does not give me this much trouble, neither does Triton, why can you not be more like them? What's your excuse this time?" Jupiter demanded.

Percy replied with a hint of petulance, "It's not like I am actually needed there, I -"

"I need hear no more. Go back to your chambers." With a wave, Jupiter turned his back on Percy. Biting his lips a little, Percy bowed his head and retreated.

He planned to go to the library and start reading quietly. Unfortunately, Sally ambushed him while he was on his way.

"Why do you continue with this? You know you need to show up to do your duties." The worry was evident, and Percy can't find it in himself to be annoyed at her.

"You know that they do not need me, Mum. Why should I show up? Besides, I only worsen things. Remember what happened last time?"

Sally looked away from Percy for a while, clearly thinking about something, before turning back to him. "Percy, you need to learn to be less careless and forgetful. You know that if you continue like this, you would be useless to the kingdom."

"I'll do something about it, Mum, it's alright." Percy said, unconcerned.

"You'll try. Percy, you're fifteen. If you were raised in my time, you would have been at least proficient with a sword, if not more weapons, by thirteen. You need to learn how to fight. I know you prefer to be passive, but sooner or later you will have to pick up the sword and fight. It's easier to start learning now," Sally began.

"Mum..."

"No, Percy, listen. I cannot teach you to fight, girls can learn, yes, but I was never trained the way my brother was. I've asked Ajax, chief jailor of the Giruti Prison, to train you in the swordsmanship and martial arts I cannot teach you. Do not let your brothers find out about this, though."

"Why?"

"You were destined to do great things, Percy. One day you would understand. However, many people do not want you to achieve those goals, they would kill you if they could. Jupiter's protection is the only reason we are both here. Hercules and Triton may not understand your worth, but they will do what they could to keep you this way. This is one thing you could keep the upper hand on. Just promise me you would not tell them."

Swayed by her earnestness, Percy looked at his mother in the eye and swore solemnly that he would keep this a secret.

* * *

- Fiamme di Guerra (Tribe-Land: Avertir) -

"Leo, you're old enough. This caravan will go to Olympus and circulate there before returning, and I want you to go with them."

Leo looked down. 'Old enough. You just want me out of the way before I cause even more trouble between us and Cielo when the Castellans visit.' Aloud, he said, "Yes, father. So, I'm going alone?"

"You're going with the caravan, and you will stay with them. Do not wander off and get lost, Olympus is a barren wasteland, you will not survive there alone." Hephaestus said.

"Why are we going there, then? Isn't it unpopulated? No one would be there!"

"Those fools La Rue wants us to check the area as they could not go themselves, it would draw too much suspicion. No idea why they will want that, it is barren and there would not be anyone there regardless. There's probably something to do with that failed rebellion some fifteen years ago, but we are supposed to do what they ask without question, even foolish things like this. They protect us from Royaume, though. Not too much a price to pay now, right? Besides, it is just a two days extension to the same route."

"Why me, though? Charles would be much more qualified. Even Rachel could go!"

"You need exposure. Just go."

* * *

- Castle Araluen -

Ammit whined, weaving between Anubis' legs before bolting off to the door without warning. Anubis let him go, sensing through his wolf that Snow was on his way to Castle Araluen and that Theseus will probably arrive half a day after Snow did. waiting outside. The bittersweet triumph flowing through the link meant that Father has most likely approved. Wishing that he was wrong, Anubis turned to face his silent companion. Charon understood what was going on in the one look he exchanged with Anubis.

'Why did you approve, father? You know that this means sending my brothers and sister into a war-zone.'

* * *

- Mirage Exilé -

The moon hung in the sky, shining down on a woman sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted towards the moon. A shadow fell over her, breaking the peaceful image.

"Mother." The word hung in the air, almost palpable.

"Son. What is it?"

"We are almost there. The armies would be ready to march in seven days."

There was a pause. Then, "What of Minos?"

"He needs more time, he says."

"He can have all the time he wants. Let me know when he is ready."

"Yes, Mother."

After he left, she stood up slowly.

"You may not be alive anymore, Hyperion, but your children will pay in your place. Your family will rue the day you killed my brother and exiled my family."

She opened her earth-green eyes. "I am the Queen in the North. And I will see the throne of Déviation returned to us, whatever it takes."

* * *

_Not sure if it is a good place to stop, but, oh well. This is the prologue. The actual story starts five days after this took place. _


	2. Chapter 1: Get Lucky

_Chapter 1's done! Thanks to those who viewed my story and I really wouldn't mind a review or two too. I haven't gotten around to getting a beta yet, so forgive me for any spelling errors or grammer mistakes. You could point it out in the reviews too. This chapter is mainly on Percy. Enjoy!_

___Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, especially the characters in the story. I just used names that came to me. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Jumong, Ranger's Apprentice, Beyonders, Dormia, Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Avengers, Eragon and Google Translate(I used that to generate family names)_

_Summary: Almost everyone knew that the person sitting on the throne does not belong there. They did nothing, though. Everyone heard of the rebellion that has happened and failed. And everyone knew what happened to those that joined. Perhaps they knew not who was the leader and what happened to the person, but they knew enough to know that joining the second wave, led by a successor, is dangerous - you only join if it's the last option. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratics. This time, unseen, other forces were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive._

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"

Chapter 1: Get Lucky

"Perseus, would you like to explain why you are late again?"

"I didn't mean to be. I just lost track of the time, I promise..."

"Don't promise me you won't be late next time. We both know you will be. Let's see, we're still at basics of different weapons and their histories."

"Why can't I learn how to fight now?"

"Because, to fight well, it is better to know the weapon you are working with well, and to so that, you need to know its history and how it works before you fight with it. There is also the fact that our weapon manufacturers are all decommissioned and it is illegal to own a forged weapon. So, we will stick to the history lessons and your endurance training until I can get you the weapons to fight with."

"Which weapon are we looking at today then?"

Ajax looked at the impatient person in front of him and sighed. "I heard that you are going out with your brothers and their companions to look for the Atlantis Trident."

"Yes, why?" Percy looked surprised.

"We'll start with that then. What do you know about it?"

"It is said to have belonged to Acidalia, Queen Regent before Atlantis fell as Adonis, the King, died earlier on. After Atlantis was conquered, the Trident disappeared. Some people say that only the true king of Atlantis will be able to recover it."

"Do you truly believe that?"

"Not really. It's just that, a legend."

"It is a legend, yes, but it existed. The truth is, it did not disappear. Acidalia hid it in a safe place for the next regent when Royaume invaded."

"Why?"

"She hid it for the same reason she sent her daughters away - "

"She had daughters?"

"Let me finish. The point is, she knew that Atlantis will be conquered sooner or later and the Trident was significant. If it breaks, the people's hopes will go as well. That could not be afforded. And, yes, she had daughters. Two, in fact."

"Why didn't anyone go and look for them?"

"People generally believed that they were killed when Royaume took over the household. Some thought that they were taken by the tribes from beyond the Wall the time they visited there before the fall of Atlantis and their parents simply did not notify people of their disappearance."

"How did you know about them, then?"

Closing his eyes, Ajax asked Percy, "Do I have your promise that nothing you heard here will reach your brothers' or your father's ears?"

"Of course."

"I was from one of the lesser noble families of Atlantis before. That was why they never found me. But I knew the elder daughter, I taught her how to defend herself in the short period of time before she left Atlantis for Olympus, the deserted wasteland west of your map of Déviation. It was razed to the ground."

Percy was raptured. "What happened to them?"

"No one knows. All I know was that they joined the rebellion against the Võitja family and were never heard from again. Back to the topic, the Trident was significant for a reason. No one talks about it anymore, but there used to be a belief that the Jacksons were originally tied to the gods who founded this land and could practice magic. The Trident was forged by the gods and given to the family as a symbol of their connection before the gates between their land and ours were sealed. It is also said that when the gates open again, the Trident would allow its wielder to control the oceans."

Percy was silent as he processed the information swamping him. Most of it was new and incredulous, like the "magical properties" of the Tridents, which would be just myths. However, the rebellion... he heard of it before, in the passing, but he never took it seriously. Why would anyone dare to oppose the ruling family of Royaume? They were just scary. He found himself asking, "What happened to the rebels?"

Ajax's face darkened. "They died in the fire that destroyed Olympus," he replied shortly.

Percy understood that as an indication not to ask more even though his curiosity peaked. He settled for asking if he could go instead.

Ajax turned back to his schedule and told him yes.

* * *

"Perseus, are you done yet? We need to leave!"

"Yes, I'm here!" Percy declared as he burst into Hercules' chambers, where Hercules, Triton's servant, Kira, Triton and Grover were waiting. He only had with him a water skin and a small pouch with a map and some medical supplies. "So, where are we looking for the trident at?"

"Weren't you listening yesterday? We're going to the Founder's Mountain in the Orthys mountain range where few people would risk going. That place is dangerous, misty and freezing. We're going because it is perfectly possible that the legendary trident was hidden there, where only the bravest of men would enter," Triton said, sounding annoyed.

* * *

Hercules led the group as he knew the place better than the others, having gone there once. As they trekked pass and between foggy mountains, Percy got distracted by a flash of light he saw in his peripheral vision. When he turned his head to look, there was nothing there, so he turned back to the path. However, the light lingered in his side view, vanishing whenever he turned his head. On top of that, he realised that the others did not appear to have this problem. Grover, who was ahead of him, laughed at him when he asked about that light. "Percy, get your head out of the clouds. There's no lights there or here or anywhere in this range because it is uninhibited by people, the only light there is is the one from the sun and the one from our torch later in the day when it gets darker."

The fifth time he turned his head to look at the light, he tripped over a root in the juncture and stumbled. He landed with an 'oof'. As he picked himself up and dusted himself off, he realised that they have moved on ahead. "Hey, Grover? Wait for me!" There was no answer. Slightly anxious, he hurried in the rough direction he thought they left in, taking the left path.

After a while, he had to admit that he was hopelessly lost. Not only was there the fact that he lost track of the path, there was nobody ahead of him and no one answering him when he called. The worst part was the fact that the place was mistier and dusk was falling, therefore, it was harder for him to navigate and see clearly. This caused him to stumble over all sorts of things.

As he attempted to retrace his path to the split where he lost them, he noticed the light again, except, this time, it was right ahead of him and did not disappear. Deciding to follow it since he was already lost, he trekked in that direction. He was greeted by some sounds of laughter, chatter and very bad singing as he arrived at the edge of a clearing of sorts. He pushed the branches aside and saw a campsite.

* * *

~ Earlier on ~

"Come on, cupcakes, let's get this camp set up! We're staying here tonight, where no pesky Royaume soldiers would poke around our goods." Gleeson Hedge hollered. He received an affirmative from his people in the trade envoy. As he returned to his caravan, he thought about the report he would have to give Hermes. In the previous trips, the ruins of Olympus were deserted, but this time, he noticed that there were signs of someone staying in some of the less burnt buildings. Whoever it was made sure to clean up after themselves and probably could have escaped the notice of the Royaume patrols, but he was better than them, after all, he grew up learning how to identify traces of life.

Deciding that staying in his caravan to brood was not going to change facts, he moved on to supervise the setting up of camp. Eventually, he decided on helping build the campfire. As the families on this envoy surrounded the campfire and had their dinner, he thought that this night was peaceful. Then, he noticed the unfamiliar boy standing at the edge of their clearing looking on. Without alerting the rest, he stood up and made his way towards the boy still staring at the campfire.

* * *

"Hey, what are you doing out here alone?" accompanied the hand clapping down on his shoulder. He almost jumped out of his skin at the contact.

Whirring around, he came face to face with a stout man about five foot tall. The man in question had beady eyes, a wispy goatee and was looking at him with some curiousity and concern.

Percy flushed a little when he realised that he had, indeed, been staring at the campfire with some longing for its warmth as it was frigid. Knowing that the stranger expected an answer, he replied rather honestly, "I got lost when I was separated from my step brothers accidentally. Haven't figured out how to get out of here yet."

He was rather surprised when the stranger offered for him to tag along the caravan as they made their way down the mountains. "You won't do anyone any good freezing up here alone."

Letting himself be led by the stranger to the campfire, he was handed a bowl of stew and told to enjoy it. The stranger had him introduce himself to the group of people. As he settled down and ate the food, he realised that he felt more at home among this group of strangers than he ever felt in the stifling court life even though he never met them before and couldn't even recall most of their names. After the dinner, Hedge, the stranger, offered him a bedroll and a spot in his caravan.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about how friendly these people seemed to be and how he could introduce his mother to them - she always seemed so alone in the palace.

* * *

~With Grover~

"Wait up, Hercules, Percy's gone!" Grover panted as he continued hiking after them.

"He probably chickened out and just went home," Triton dismissed. Hercules did not even bother to pause.

"If he went home, he would have told me, what if he accidentally took the wrong path and got lost?"

"Good riddance to him, then."

Grover gawked at the two of them. "But..."

"Just forget it, Grover," Kira advised him in a whisper. "If you keep this up, they'll leave you behind as well, and you can't find your way out of this place if you get lost. If Perseus truly was lost, there is no chance of finding him again. This place is worst than a labyrinth."

Grover quieted at that, fervently praying that Percy was fine and capable of getting home himself. He would go after him, except that Grover knew he couldn't possibly find Percy even if he tried and he was no use to anyone if he was lost up here. On top of that, Akira would probably be instructed to put a dagger in his back for "deserting" the group. He was a Kane after all, and anyone could tell you that the Phaeton family doesn't trust the Kanes.

* * *

When the quartet finally reached the cave near the summit of the mountain, it was near midnight. They only stopped once to have dinner before continuing on their way. Hercules lit the torch he was holding before entering the cave, the other three following closely behind. There was no natural light in the cave. At the cavern, there was a single beam of moonlight shining down on a small case with a scroll inside.

Excitably, Triton went on, removed the scroll from the casing and opened it. After studying its contents, he frowned. Hercules handed the torch to Kira, who accepted it quietly, before heading over to see what was on the scroll when he saw Triton's frown. Grover stood quietly with Kira.

After awhile, Hercules beckoned Grover and Kira over. There was a map of some place on the scroll, with a verse written on the side in an unfamilar language.

"Do you understand it?" Grover shook his head. Surprisingly, Kira could read the language. Impatiently, Triton ordered him to translate. The translated verse just served to confuse them even more.

"Maybe we could think a bit more clearly after some rest?" Grover offered rather timidly. He knew what Hercules could be like when a problem was unsolved, but he was tired from the hike and wanted to sleep. To his relief, Hercules agreed.

* * *

Given the task of keeping the first watch, Kira thought over the verse on the map. He knew that he heard it before, but he mentioned nothing about it.

"What breaks but never falls and falls but never breaks?

Look for the ash left in the forest flame's wake

Where all this coincides, unearth the keys in the glade,

The Gladiolus would point the way to the gate."


	3. Chapter 2: Let it Burn

_Thank you to the viewers! This story is still not beta'd. I can't promise to update once every fortnight, but I can promise to have one chapter every month, at least, if not two. This chapter will be focusing on what happened at Olympus or near it after Hedge left. Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, especially the characters in the story. I just used names that came to me. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Jumong, Ranger's Apprentice, Beyonders, Dormia, Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Avengers, Eragon and Google Translate(I used that to generate family names)_

_Summary: Almost everyone knew that the person sitting on the throne does not belong there. They did nothing, though. Everyone heard of the rebellion that has happened and failed. And everyone knew what happened to those that joined. Perhaps they knew not who was the leader and what happened to the person, but they knew enough to know that joining the second wave, led by a successor, is dangerous - you only join if it's the last option. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratics. This time, unseen, other forces were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive._

_Warnings: This chapter contains molestation, attempted non-con. Don't read the last 'page break' if you are not comfortable with this._

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"

Chapter 2: Let it Burn

At the foot of what remained of the once majestic fortress tower, a small group of thirty-three people were huddled together, looking up at the Wall. It did not sustain any damage from the fire that laid waste Olympus.

Will, Apollo's best scout, had been sent in to map the place out earlier. Charon stayed at Castle Araluen for administrative purposes while Boreas remained to recover. Nico and Bianca filled up for them.

'Those two kids could take down a whole army with their wolves,' Apollo admitted to himself silently.

At dusk, Will would be leading Nico, Bianca and Anubis to the camp's supply storage rooms. They'll set fire to it. The remaining twenty-nine will stay guard at the Wall, in case the infiltration fell through and they decided it would be best to launch themselves at the Wall and batter it down. The tribesmen had actually tried that before.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Bianca whispered.

"Their cooks come here for supplies."

"Those things doesn't look edible," Anubis commented, eyeing the slime-like substances dribbling off some butchered - animal? - warily. There were piles of moss and algae all around, as well as some wilted lettuces. A pile of what looked like defecation sat forlornly in the corner.

"I know. It actually makes our job easier, since we don't have to worry about burning good food," Will stated.

"There's four of us, but the warehouses are really close together. If a fire starts, all would burn easily. In fact, there should hardly be any difficulties, the patrols are not well put together and the guards we passed were either drunk or asleep," Bianca commented.

"Don't you think this is too easy?" Nico asked. "Besides, the irregular patrolling schedule makes it harder to predict when the next group will come by."

"Let's just get this over with, Nico. The sooner we get out of here, the better off we will be. This place is really…" Anubis trailed off.

"There's actually a back-up storage shed nearer the centre of the camp where food for the chiefs are stored at. That place will be more heavily guarded," Will warned.

Nico pursed his lips. "I don't really like the idea of splitting up, but we don't really have a choice here. Will and I go to the back-up store and you two can do a quick job here. We'll meet back at the Wall with the others."

Will silenced the objections before they were voiced. "Nico is the smallest in size. If we're caught, he'll be able to slip out. Their cells were built for people their size."

Neither Bianca nor Anubis wanted to agree. They don't his capabilities, and this mission seemed to be going rather smoothly, but none of them were näive enough to believe that it would definitely end smoothly.

* * *

By that time, night has already fallen and most of the tribespeople were gathered at the centre of the camp for food. Will and Nico crouched on the canvas acting as a roof for the occupants in the tent, observing the activities going on below them.

"That tent over there?" Will pointed at a tent which was guarded by three people. Surprisingly, the guards were attentive.

"That's where I'll target, right?"

"Yes. Just, the chiefs sleep there too, so sneaking in to set fire might not be wise."

"Thanks for the warning."

Will nodded at that and lept off the tent, disappearing swiftly into the shadows.

When Will arrive back where Bianca and Anubis were at, they would set the fire, which doesn't give Nico a lot of time.

Thing was, the only items Nico actually have with him were the fire-starters, some petrol, his bows and arrows, a pair of throwing knives in his boots and a small, concealable dagger. And, of course, Lupa, who was roaming about in the pine forest near the outskirts of the camp. She would come of he called, but Nico didn't see any need for that so far.

'If breaking in isn't an option, then setting fire to it from outside is the only choice. But I don't want to get too close, because that would make it harder to escape through the chaos,' Nico thought.

It came to him that arrows were meant for long range and it would be much easier, since he was good with archery. Everyone in his family were excellent archers and he was no exception, especially since his built meant that physical combat will not end well for him. Deciding that this would be the best course of action, he took off his shirt and tore three strips off them before putting it back on. Those cloth went onto three arrows, and all were soaked in petrol.

* * *

Hesitation would not help him, Nico knew. And the bonfire somewhat nearby would help mask the arrows as they make their way to their target.

Lighting all three arrows, he sent them racing through the night sky to the storage tent. They sizzled a little and the moment they landed, the tent caught fire. Because the three arrows hit different spots, the fire spreaded much quicker and there was no doubt that nothing in that tent will survive. Some of the surrounding tents caught hold of the flames too, and the fire just grew bigger.

Fascinated by some of the colours, Nico watched for a while before turning to leave - and cursed himself silently for being right about things going too smoothly as well as staying that extra half a minute. Because the tribespeople surrounding the tent had spotted him, obviously.

* * *

Anubis, Bianca and Will had made their way out of the camp with Ammit and Nymeria. As agreed, they scaled the Wall and searched for Apollo's party to wait for Nico. Through their wolves, the Di Angelo siblings felt the satisfaction that Nico had felt, so they felt relatively secure in the fact that he would return soon. From their spot on the Wall, they watched the fire spread around the camp and agreed that it was a beautiful sight, especially since some parts of the fire actually had different colours like purple or blue. At some places, the fire would flicker and die out, only to be revived by branch of fire nearby. It just showed how futile attempting to fight the inferno was. But Nico did not return, despite the obvious victory this round.

A light snow fell some time after midnight, putting out most of the fire. Most of the camp was still left in ruins, though, like Olympus. The small fires that survived the snow died out eventually. Nearing dawn the next day, though, Nico still didn't show up. That was when they actually started getting worried.

Around noon, Bianca declared that she's going to search for her brother because if he didn't show up by now, then he must be in really deep trouble. He wouldn't worry them unnecessarily. Anubis was of the same mindset, but Apollo and Will together managed to convince the two to stay put for a while more. They staked out for the remainder of the day, but there was no sign of Nico or his wolf, Lupa.

After night fell, Bianca decided that she wasn't waiting anymore and Apollo agreed. They followed Ammit, Nymeria and Snow, Theseus' direwolf, down to the ruined camp to search for the one that didn't return.

* * *

The clouds hovering over the camp that night had obscured most of the moonlight, so they couldn't have seen him too clearly yet. Nico still had the advantage of height and the cover of darkness. Staying at the same spot would be a stupid move though, because the tribespeople, while relatively undeveloped in terms of talking tactical moves and negotiations, were not completely dumb.

They could just rip the whole thing apart. Some of them broke off from the group to assist in putting out the raging fire, but most of them came nearer.

Making his decision, Nico lept to the next canvas and continued, running across the camp. As he ran, he uncapped the bottle of petrol and left a trial of petrol. When he ran out, he jumped off the canvas and let a fire start. Turning, he sprinted away from the fire behind him and reached a dead end.

The fire was still burning, jumping from one tent to another and spreading all over the place, casting it into chaos. It was also catching up on him. Luckily, or unluckily, the dead end was a tent squished together with the others on either side. Taking his chance, he reached for the flap just for it to open and a leering tribesperson to reach out.

He backed away and half-flattened himself to the ground out of instinct, but the fire was close, too close and the heat was starting to burn. The tribesperson didn't back away, though, he came forward, and then there was no more room for Nico to back into. The leer was still there as he reached forward and promptly collapsed to the ground, holding his hand to his throat, surprised.

Breathing hard and sweating heavily, Nico clutched onto the dagger in his belt when he realised that there were more of them, that this wasn't the only one. But he lost one of his throwing knives, which gives him just his arrows, his dagger and his remaining throwing knife. With the fire seconds from consuming him too, it really wasn't a choice when he lept forward, aiming for the second tribesperson's throat.

* * *

"This is useless!" Bianca nearly cried in frustration as she kicked at a piece of unburnt wood. They've been searching for almost three days now and there was no sign that anyone were even here except for the charred ruins and burnt remnants of people who failed to escape the fire. "Why can't we find him?"

"What if..if he died in the fire?" Will cautiously suggested,

Bianca turned, eyes wide and slightly wild, hissing, "Do you think we won't know if he died? He's not dead, he survived, but we can't find him! And why didn't you stay with him and made sure he was - "

"Calm down, Bianca, I'm sure it's not Will's -" Theseus tried to placate her, but Bianca rounded on him and she was definitely glaring daggers.

"Why did you even join the NightWatch? If you didn't we wouldn't be here and Nico wouldn't be missing -"

Anubis placed a hand on Bianca's shoulder, forcefully turning her around and looking her in the eyes. "Look, Ann, don't be unreasonable. You know that we'll all be here even if Theseus didn't join the NightWatch to help and it wasn't truly Will's fault, Nico suggested the idea. We're stressed and worried about him, but please don't take it out on them, Ann, don't. You'll regret it later."

At the use of her pet name, Bianca quieted and looked down to the ground. Anubis hadn't taken that tone on her since she was six, and she never wanted to give him the reason to. Anubis sighed and steered her away. "You need to sleep. We'll continue later." Ammit and Nymeria trailed after them, ears drooping.

Theseus watched them go and turned back to Will. "We'll continue searching. We haven't finished the whole camp just yet."

Will nodded mutely and followed Theseus' lead.

* * *

Nico could power through a fight with sheer willpower, but his endurance was the other thing he sorely lacked. Half of his childhood had been spent indoors, after all, since he was born prematurely and was almost constantly ill until he was six, turning seven. His older siblings' over-protectiveness stemmed from this, as did his ability to sneak around silently. Compared to normal people, his endurance level was relatively high, but he was incapable of holding his ground in a fight against a lot of strong opponents alone for long stretches of time.

Which resulted in his current predicament. He didn't really want to fight, but flight wasn't an option given that the fire was pressing in on him from behind. Forcing him to go forward and continue taking them down without mercy, because they wouldn't show him mercy.

He lost his arrows somewhere and the bow had been broken by one of those brutes - that was one of his best, damnit - and all he had left to sustain himself was a dagger. One of them got hold of his knife and broke it.

He was running out of energy and he knew it.

The worst part was, his current opponent knew it too. He could tell. The tribesperson's eyes were kind of maniacal and wild, and he was definitely leering. This one was harder to take down than the others, too, because he actually knew how to fight. He was also armed.

After dancing around each other for a while, Nico slipped up. He got too close to the tribesperson and missed - the brute retaliated by grabbing his arm, subsequently breaking it.

Now, Nico has a high threshold for pain, but the shock and the pain of his arm being broken took a split-second to register and the white-hot flare that struck him had him automatically doubling up a little in response, breathing harder, freezing for a moment. That moment was all it took for the tribesperson to overpower Nico, pinning the boy to the ground and practically crushing his body, sandwiched as he was between the ground and the tribesperson who was at least five times his weight.

The tribesperson was too heavy. The weight made it really hard for Nico to breath properly. Combined with the smoke and the halt of the adrenaline rush, Nico passed out on the spot.

* * *

"He isn't gone. I know he isn't," Bianca insisted.

"I know, Ann. But he isn't here either."

"We shouldn't have let him go."

"What's done is done. He's gone for now."

Theseus held her as she broke down now, when it was just the two of them. "He can't be gone! He can fight and take care of himself but he shouldn't have to!"

"I know, Ann. Trust that he will find his way home."

"I promised to be there for him."

"We all did. But there's nothing we could do for him now, except pray that he is safe and will return to us soon."

* * *

The smell was the first thing Nico noticed. The place reeked of sweat and blood and other bodily fluids Nico really did not want to think about. They had blindfolded him and placed him in a cage. A damp and musty cage.

Nico tried to move and realised that they had taken the liberty to bind not only his hands but his arms and his ankles. His shirt had been in tatters from earlier on, so it did nothing in offering him protection from the chafing of the roughly hewn ropes they used to secure his arms to his body.

The ropes being secured tightly enough to cut off his bloodflow, numbing him, together with the constricted space of the cage he barely fitted in made it impossible for him to try freeing himself without help.

His weapons were all gone and he was pretty much helpless here.

He had no idea where he was at all, or how much time had passed.

There was a 'click' of something being unlocked. Being picked up and dumped rather unceremoniously on the ground was not nice. Especially since the ground was covered in a layer of slushy snow that was absolutely freezing.

It did not help that he landed on his left arm. White spots formed before everything seemed dark again. Then, in a very heavily accented english, one of those tribespeople asked, "Why did you bring the fire?"

Nico turned towards the voice and glared reproachfully. Of course, they could not see his expression. Someone kicked him in the abdomen, making him curl up on himself reflexively. "Answer!"

Nico did not respond. One of them, presumedly the one who kicked him, tilted his chin up and removed the blindfold.

The person's face was almost touching his. Nico felt a temporary flare of panic at the proximity. 'His eyes are blue,' Nico registered. He also realised that the person in front of him looked rather young, although he was also spouting the beard all of them do.

The male turned and yelled something in a foreign language at the others gathered around there. One of them grumbled something in response. He turned back to face Nico, staring at him in the eyes.

He nodded, as if he saw something he liked. He let go and stood up. Nico watched him go with some confusion.

They left him there and streamed off. From the feel, they tied his wrist with the figure eight. After a bit of struggling, Nico managed to free his right wrist. There was still the ropes around his torso, his arms and his ankles. Out of the constricting cage and able to see, it was easier to try maneuvering himself into a half sitting position.

Just as he was attempting, someone sat down beside him. His heart almost stopped.

"Trying to escape?" The hot breath brushed past his left ear. He could feel the stranger pressing against him from behind. The voice sounded like the one who demanded his cooperation.

* * *

The wolf pounced on the guard, taking him down and killing him with a single bite despite the fact that he was at least three times the size of her master, who was about twice her size. The only thing that mattered to her then was that her master was in trouble and he needed help, that he was terrified and definitely hurt. She has already wasted too much time locating him.

She had brown eyes tinted with yellow and was sienna coloured. She was a predator of the forest.

She had watched as the camp burnt down, staying in the forests as instructed. She had felt his victory, but it did not last. She could feel him panicking and then his side blanked.

He did not respond even after a while and she was worried. Those strange people were dangerous and big, they were also fast. She lost track of them and had just found them again. She would not lose her master.

* * *

There were hands on him then. Cold. Big. Not shaking in the slightest. Not like he was, a little. They were sneaking under his tattered shirt at the sides. On the bright side, the ropes were loosened.

The brute moved back and ripped his shirt off him. The cold struck him like a whip though. He shuddered.

Nico couldn't move. This wasn't happening. Not here. Not now.

Nico opened his eyes wide. The shock of what was happening overwhelmed him, it was too much. He didn't want this, he shouldn't even be here, but he was.

There was a hand on his lower back, fingers cold. So cold. Rubbing at the dip of his spine. It was freezing. The hand moved lower and lower and why couldn't he just react?

"I will take you so hard you will break, you're so small, you will be so tight…"

Why was he even here? He tried to escape now, but the brute had him pinned on the floor with his weight. The only good thing that came out of the whole thing was that the ropes binding him were mostly removed, which meant that if he could just get this damned brute off, he could remove the ropes around his ankles and run.

But there was no strength in him left. His left arm was broken. He lost a lot of blood, and his arm wasn't set. The wound was definitely infected. He was numb, stiff, from being tied up and stuffed into that cage.

The hand was down his pants now. Probably slick with spit, slimy, rubbing at his hole. Up and down, pushing in. It hurt. It really, really hurts. It was big, too big, it just felt so wrong.

The finger was pushed deeper in. Nico squeezed his eyes shut. The finger crooked and the pressure made him gasp and he felt really violated. It was making his stomach hurt, make him want to throw up, he couldn't do this, he can't.

* * *

_I actually didn't plan on this but it just came out on the document and I just thought that it would work. I am kind of sadistic though. :P Please don't blame me for this! A bit of the next chapter on Nico:_

As if someone heard him, the deadweight disappeared. The pressure on his ankles loosened, too, and something nuzzled his side. He cracked open one eye...


	4. Chapter 3: Possible Allies

_This story is still not beta'd. I'm sorry! Percy and Grover are the main narrators in this chapter. There is one part where Kira will sort-of narrate, but it is very short. For those people who doesn't like OCs, I hope that you wouldn't mind Kira so much, he will not be a Mary-sue type character, I promise. He will play an important part, but he is still a minor character. I just need someone people doesn't know anything about there. You'll see why in later chapters, once I'm done with Nico's part. You get to know what happened to Nico too! Don't worry, I'm not killing him off now. _

_On a separate note, I'm so glad that people are actually reading this story! Thank you to the viewers!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, especially the characters in the story. I just used names that came to me. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Jumong, Ranger's Apprentice, Beyonders, Dormia, Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Avengers, Eragon and Google Translate(I used that to generate family names)_

_Summary: Almost everyone knew that the person sitting on the throne does not belong there. They did nothing, though. Everyone heard of the rebellion that has happened and failed. And everyone knew what happened to those that joined. Perhaps they knew not who was the leader and what happened to the person, but they knew enough to know that joining the second wave, led by a successor, is dangerous - you only join if it's the last option. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratics. This time, unseen, other forces were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive._

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"

Chapter 3: Possible Allies

"Hey, cupcake, we'll be dropping you off here! Get home safely!" Hedge called from his position on the leading horse. Percy, who was daydreaming as he rode at the back, snapped back to reality with a start, almost falling off his mare, Crescent. She startled a little and he automatically went on to calming her down. Feeling heat rising up his cheeks when he realised that he was caught daydreaming and now had no idea what was going on, he looked around, the word 'confused' pretty much plastered on his face.

Hedge laughed and rode over. "This is border of Anulet, as far in as we can get without a pass. So, we're dropping you off here," he explained.

Percy scanned the area once more and nodded his understanding, hastily dismounting. He handed the reins to one of the others walking near there and received a pat on the back from him.

"Don't get lost!"

With that, the merry troupe of merchants streamed off.

Percy stood there, one hand raised as an acknowledgement of their parting of ways until they disappeared from sight. Then, he turned around and sighed. This was going to be a long, long way back.

* * *

Grover woke to being shaken. He groaned and rolled over, trying to get comfortable and return to dreamland when he realised that the bed was rock-hard. His eyes opened rather wide at that realisation and he sat up rather quickly. Kira sat there, watching him silently. Grover felt a little creeped out by the intensity of the gaze Kira pinned on him, but did not have the guts to tell him to look elsewhere.

Instead, he studiously ignored Kira's presence, choosing to look at anywhere but him, Hercules and Triton as he stretched, satisfied when he heard his bones pop back into place.

"Do you know what time is it?" Grover asked, stifling a yawn as he scanned the place.

"It is hard to gauge the time here," Kira replied in that almost monotonous way of his. As he was speaking, Grover's line of sight settled on a carving illuminated by a stream of moonlight filtering through a hole in the ceiling that none of them were aware was there.

A young man with wild, untamable and unruly hair stood at the edge of a cliff, facing inland, the gigantic ocean waves framing him. He had a glowing trident in his left hand and he was holding it up high, determination clear in his eyes.

Even in a carving, he radiated power.

* * *

The Palace, his place there, was just a constant reminder of the royal functions and duties. Hercules and Triton, both before him, were perfect role models, setting the expectations everyone had for him. Everytime he failed, everyone would just attribute it to him being his mother's son more than his father's. All the attention and expectations stifled and suffocated him. The cliffs, just one step away from the oceans, had always been more of a home to Percy than the palace ever was. Being there was being free. There, no one would tell him what he had to do or what he is not supposed to do, he can do what he liked alone, exploring and creating his own stories for every place he ended up in.

As a result, when he was younger, he spends the majority of his time there, wandering the cliffs alone, looking for ways down the face of the cliff and just having a great time. Every day, he would discover something new about that place.

Because he always wandered off somewhere with his mind in an entirely different dimension, the guards eventually stopped waiting for him to find them when he was done, rather, just leaving when dusk falls and let him find his own way home when he was satisfied.

Percy was not an idiot, but he was young. The first time he was left behind, he was scared and spent a long time lost. A kind soul found him and led him home the first time. After that, Percy stuck to the given time for a while before forgetting the time and being left behind again. After a lot of trials and errors, Percy eventually learnt the way to the palace from the cliffs.

Now, left at the edge of Anulet, alone too, he decided to just keep going on in the same direction. Eventually, he would find the cliffs, and he would be able to get to the palace from there. The cliffs were his place. This was once Atlantis, the ocean fortress after all. The city meets the ocean at the cliffs. And the oceans were his through birthrights, even if he did not know it yet.

* * *

Grover positively gaped as he stared at the carving in awe. "Is that… the Lost Trident?"

Kira looked on in silence.

"My gods… it is just as magnificent as it has always been said to be," Grover continued, sounding slightly breathless. "We're on the right track…"

"Is it a good thing that we find it?"Kira muttered.

Grover looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "What do you mean? If we find it, we will have hope once more!"

Kira did not reply.

* * *

At dusk, Percy was still stumbling his way towards the cliffs through a sleepy village. According to some of the helpful children, the cliffs were not that far away. Percy hoped they were right. He just really wanted to go home, at this point in time.

Something solid slammed into him. "Ow!" he bit out as he hit the ground. The figure scrambled to get up. Percy got a glimpse of his-her? face. The eyes were blue, the sort of blue which looked kind of ethereal reflected under the moonlight. (S)he had sharp, well-defined cheekbones and relatively light-coloured hair.

"Sorry," was all he/her said, before the person bolted.

"Wait up," he called, halfway off the ground, to discover that the person was gone.

Shortly after, a couple of people thundered past him. "Catch that little good-for-nothing-"

Percy was left sitting there, confused. He decided to think no more of this, although his conscience and natural curiosity had him wanting to investigate and maybe help the stranger who ran into him. As he stood up and turned to walk away, figure detaching itself from the shadows had him turning back.

A little girl who looked no older than eight approached him. She had glossy black hair and piercing black eyes which made Percy felt a little unsettled. There was an air of authority to her that she should not have been able to achieve at this age. However, she seemed kind of uneasy about this. It was just the feeling Percy had gotten, because she showed nothing.

A small part of Percy's brain told him that he should walk away from this when he still can and stay out of the mess that this whole thing is promising to become. Years of practice helped him ignore it.

* * *

"This has to mean something," Grover told Kira as he touched the carving reverently.

"Here, let me," Kira moved Grover aside and ran his hand over the carving. His hand came to a stop on the tip of the trident. He could feel a slight bump there.

He pushed down on it.

* * *

There was no one else present who could possibly help him. 'I can't do this," Nico thought. 'I can't. Stop. Please, stop.'

As if someone heard him, the deadweight was bowled off him and something furry, warm nuzzled his side. He cracked open his eyes. Lupa…

She sliced the bonds apart with her claws. She then looked at him imploringly. He could almost hear her urging him to run. He pushed himself up unsteadily with his right arm and winced a little, waiting for the dizziness to pass before looking around. They were in a clearing of sorts in the woods.

The tents set up all around were nicely arranged, perhaps even more organised than the camp he set fire to. It was pretty obvious this camp was not hastily set up.

'They had a backup base camp?' Nico was a little incredulous and slightly confused. None the transcripts he read and folklores he heard suggested anything about the tribespeople beyond the Wall having the intelligence to do backup plans. Having a backup food store was, perhaps, understandable, but a backup camp set up even nicer than the camp they were meant to stay in? That was really suspicious. It actually supports what Apollo and Theseus both suspected about someone being the brains behind this attack.

However, those with intelligence that many centuries ago had all rallied themselves, gathering together to build the Wall, a barrier cutting the tribespeople off to protect themselves. No one was left behind, at least, according to transcripts, no one was. Even if they were, it was a long time ago, they would not have survived alone.

'Perhaps the tribespeople evolved? But our family and the NightWatch had always kept an eye on them and there were no changes in their behaviours to suggest they had. This whole situation is atypical. What else?'

Lupa choose to let out a low whine at this time, interrupting Nico's train of thoughts and bringing him back down into reality with a jerk. He remembered his predicament and glanced at the person Lupa had bowled off him. Bile started rising up the back of his throat and he choked it back down, hastily scrambling backwards a little. "Right, girl. We have to get out of here."

Easier said than done.

* * *

Apollo worried about how well Hades would take the news that his youngest son is lost. At least, he forced himself to worry about that as he did not want to keep his mind on the possible fates of the lost boy. He was just 11 years old.

Gods…

Theseus had to go first because he had duties. He returned to Castle Araluen, Bianca following because Anubis insisted. Naturally, all their wolves followed. Will was encouraged to go with them. Apollo let most of his men go too, they would be a lot more of a help to the NightWatch than they could be to him now that the threat to Olympus is removed.

The whole party was down. They did their job, but nothing came out of it. Things on the other side were tame. Yet another caravan of traders are poking their noses where it doesn't belong. They did not move off as quickly as the previous group did, which made Apollo's men's jobs harder. They have to reroute to escape detection and those people are all over the place. To top it off, the monthly visitors, Royaume soldiers, were due soon.

The whole of Olympus was strictly meant to be a ruin and a reminder of the revolters' failures. No one was granted permission to enter and those who were caught 'trespassing' would be hanged in the capitol. At first, this caused many people to start speculating about what was happening in Olympus but Royaume officials came down hard, dealing out harsh punishments to any and all who talked about the failed revolution, people stopped talking. Apollo would bet everything he has that majority of the kids born after the revolution knew nothing of it. Those who knew of it kept silent. It hung over everyone's head like a storm cloud, oppressive and glaringly obvious. And there was nothing one could do about it.

Since their numbers were decreased, avoiding those soldiers should not be too hard, but with those traders roaming around, if they were found, the soldiers would stick around longer and search harder to ensure they did not miss anyone else.

As if the situation isn't already bad enough.

* * *

_So, Apollo will become one of the main narrators in the story too. So far, we have Percy, Grover, Nico, Apollo, Theseus, Leo(Prologue), Anubis, Queen in the North, Lupa (Sort of) and Kira(Sort of). Guess who the mysterious 8 year old Percy met was? And try to figure out who that He/She/It who bowled Percy over was. It shouldn't be that hard._


	5. Chapter 4: Impressions

_Trying to write Leo's narration was really hard and Jason's narration was even harder. I almost gave up trying to write them. Actually, I did give up trying to write for Jason, but I did include Frank's and Chris' narrations. Leo's narration was not deleted, though, because I really wanted to give him a try. I'll probably start with Thalia/Artemis' narration and possibly Poseidon and Sally before...( I'll not spoil this"). I'll apologise for Leo being ooc as I really love the way Rick wrote him in Lost Hero and Mark of Athena (Not so much House of Hades) but I might not be able to get his voice. Just for you to know, Frank, Chris, Jason and possibly Leo now are all minor narrators who would be combined whenever I write something on their side when Apollo, Nico and Percy are not around. On with the story! (Still not beta'd)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, especially the characters in the story. I just used names that came to me. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Jumong, Ranger's Apprentice, Beyonders, Dormia, Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Avengers, Eragon and Google Translate(I used that to generate family names)_

_Summary: Almost everyone knew that the person sitting on the throne does not belong there. They did nothing, though. Everyone heard of the rebellion that has happened and failed. And everyone knew what happened to those that joined. Perhaps they knew not who was the leader and what happened to the person, but they knew enough to know that joining the second wave, led by a successor, is dangerous - you only join if it's the last option. This time, though, it was not just straightforward swords, spears, shields, arrows and democratics. This time, unseen, other forces were gathering too. A storm was imminent - and if the throne is not returned to its rightful owner, it would grow to become a hurricane no one would survive._

'Thoughts'  
"Speech"

**Chapter 4: Impressions**

The caravan was basically a box with a door, two handles, four wheels and pulled by four horses. Not that Leo was complaining. Hey, sitting in a box totally beats riding a horse or walking, thank you very much. Horses does not like Leo. The distaste is mutual. The downside, though, is that he has to share it with three ladies from Deizar - Echo, Juniper and Katie Beauregard. Another tribe paying tribute to the La Rues, just like Avertir, the tribe he came from.

Leo did not like them at first. They were not nasty, no, Leo could deal if they were nasty. The real problem was that they were too nice. Leo found that a little suspicious and was wary. Being stuck in a box with someone does wonders for your friendships, though, as Leo discovered. They did pit stops at the villages they pass to do the trading, but the majority of the time was spent on the road. None of the girls minded falling asleep in the box with Leo around. After about a week stuck in the box together with the three of them, Leo soon became uneasy friends with them. Another week and they were close friends. It helps that Leo was a naturally friendly and easy-going person, too.

Leo discovered after a while that he was glad his father sent him away on a trip. Without the prior knowledge that Leo was the son of the head of the Avertir tribe, people started treating Leo as an equal for the first time. Instead of just bowing down to him and giving in to his demands or agreeing that he was right like the people he interacted with daily, these people he met are not afraid to point out his mistakes and talk back. They also talk a lot more than the people back home did. Unlike the limited types of people he met back home, there were a lot more here - people who are wealthy and rich, people who are poor, old storytellers or travellers with wild tales of adventures or myths and legends passed down from generation to generation, butchers, maids and all the other people who would patronise their trading caravan.

For the first time, he was interacting with people who does not already have an expectation of him. For the first time, he had to earn others' respect too. This did wonders for his ability to interact with others and his self esteem.

As the youngest in his family, he tended to be overlooked. He learnt to joke and be laid back because that was the only way he could get people's attention, the only way he could get them to listen to him, really listen. It never worked, of course, but they did not ignore him, at least, even if the only time they responded were to give exasperated sighs or tell him to bother someone else.

His older siblings' stellar achievements did not help much either. Charles, the eldest in the family, was nineteen, the best blacksmith in the tribe excluding their father and married to Silena La Rue. Bast, eighteen, was roaming somewhere in Déviation, possibly in Anulet or the plains or the mountains with Artemis' Hunters. She left with them when she was fifteen and decided that she could do so much more with her life if she swear the oath and take the other Hunters' as her family. Given that the Hunters were practically a legend amongst people, the fact that she was allowed to join them raised the bar for him. Rachel, third eldest and currently seventeen, was an artist with an eye for beauty that rivalled Aphrodite and her daughters. She was also good with throwing knives and almost never miss.

Leo? Leo was the joker who never took anything seriously and could never excel at blacksmith work. Sure, he could put together anything he want with what he had, but he could not work in the forge like his brother. He could fix and repair all he want, but as long as he could not build and forge, he was not a blacksmith in the eyes of the people. Artist? He could draw blueprints, but he was the only one who could understand them at the end of the day. Warrior? Well, he was handy with a hammer and could generally work with whatever he had, but he was never excellent with anything. Nothing really felt right for him. Archer? Never mind. He would not miss the target, but he could never hit dead centre either, not like Bast could before she left to join the Hunters. That meant that he was pretty much useless as far as his people were concerned. His lack of tact probably helped things along.

As they trundled along towards Olympus, Leo learnt a lot more from the people he was interacting now than he did from the stuffy tutors his parents employed to educate him. It was not really fair that they did not do that for his siblings at all. The thing he learnt the most about, though, was the failed rebellion.

Turns out that forbidding the people from talking about it only make people want to talk about it more. Of course, they took extra care to ensure no one from the Empire could hear them, but they were willing to talk about it - only if prompted. Leo was naturally curious, and there was only so much you could learn from palace gossip.

He realised, of course, that most of the stories were not accurate, they varied so greatly from village to village that it was easy to tell that they were either really exaggerated or entirely fabricated, but he was willing to take things with a pinch of salt.

* * *

As the party neared Cielo, the atmosphere changed. It was subtle, and an outsider would never notice, but Frank could tell that the twelve guards following them had sat up straighter than they usually do - he did not think it was possible, but there you go. There was less chatter, too, and all of them had readjusted their weapons so they could reach it easily.

The reason was simple. Frank may not be as old as the rest of the party, but he knew enough. Their family does not get along with the Castellans.

According to Piper, though, once upon a time, when the land was still split in only Alagaesia and Regno di Domani, their families used to be very close. The Castellans ruled the land while the La Rues were their ambassadors. However, one day, a Kãdriez, the ruling family of Regno di Domani then, saved the La Rues from damnation - the details were not clear, as it was a long time ago - and the head of the family decided to swear fealty to the Kãdriez family to pay back the debt of gratitude. The Castellans saw this as a betrayal and they had never gotten along since. After Royaume people invaded, the ruling families of Alagaesia were split into two - one side wanted to help and the other did not. The Castellans were on the second side. When Domani perished and the Kãdriez were exiled, all the families supporting them were either massacred or forced to serve the new rulers, the Võitja family. The La Rues were one of the families who were executed. So, when Ares La Rue came back and managed to claim a land of his own, they were more than shocked. On Ares' side, he passed on his anger towards the Castellans for letting them fall to his eldest children. The two houses were not feuding, not yet, but the strained relationship was just barely cordial.

Eros, the current head of the La Rue household, was leading the party with his wife, Macaria, riding alongside him. Phobos had stayed behind with their mother, Aphrodite, to manage affairs in Fiamme di Guerra and Silena had stayed with her husband, Charles Beckendorf, in Avertir to take care of their one year old, Eragon.

Thalia and Jason Grace had tagged along and were right behind the two of them. They were as good as family, after all. Artemis had left seven years ago and her twin, Apollo, left last year. Apparently, Eros planned to honour their father's promise to Zeus and take care of his children for him.

Frank really had no complaints about the arrangement, although Thalia and her attitude scares him slightly and Jason was… he was a natural leader and someone who was good in almost everything. Someone Frank could never hope to compete with. Of course, this meant that Frank always felt a little pressurized whenever he had to talk to either of the Grace siblings. He hid it pretty well, but Clarisse saw through it. Surprisingly, she did not say much about it, although that might be because she had no reason to tease him about it - she herself was slightly in awe of the whole Grace family. The other person who realised his conflicted feelings towards the Grace siblings was, surprisingly - or perhaps not, Macaria.

Truthfully, Frank had no idea what to think of his eldest brother's wife. She just showed up one day with Eros. When he brought her home, Ares had laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, claiming that this was the true La Rue spirit, while Aphrodite had looked mildly horrified before settling into the role of a good hostess and trying to find out what she could about this girl. The only thing she got out of the fourteen year old Macaria was her name, her age, the name of her pet wolf and the fact that the wolf in question would most likely be living with her. She handled the questions thrown at her with ease and grace, directing the topics away from her without anyone realizing.

After she retired to her room that night with Eros, the rest of the family had gathered around to share what they thought of her and the deduction and general consensus was that she was definitely raised by nobles, although no one could come up with a logical explanation as to why she had a wolf for a pet.

They had cornered Eros the next day and had bombarded him with questions. All they learnt was that he knew as much about Macaria as everyone else did and that he still intended to marry her when she turn fifteen.

Her wolf, Auguste, turned out to be much friendlier than expected. She tolerated them petting her and playing with her - she even let Frank ride her when he was younger, around five or six. Every now and then, though, she would disappear for a few weeks. Her presence was always sorely missed. Macaria never explained why she disappears, though. Eventually, they learnt to classify this under "things they will never understand about Eros' wife". At the top of the list was the mystery of where she came from.

Even now, eight years later, they knew hardly anything about her past. Through the years living with her, they learnt many things about her, including her favourite food, preferred weapons, the fact that she was a good ruler completely capable of making fair judgements and that she was so good at telling when someone was lying that she was the unofficial "lie detector" in the family. They found out that she was not only good with swords, she was also an excellent archer who could hit centre on a target 60 yards away. Frank was the best archer amongst his siblings and he had trouble with targets 40 yards away. Aside from that, she was very close to her wolf and she was very protective.

None of that could help them figure out a thing about her life before Eros.

Frank did not want to care for that. What he did want to care about was the fact that she helped to coach him in archery and stuck up for him when Clarisse and Phobos teased him about his inability to handle a sword with grace. That she found out about how Frank felt towards the Grace siblings and promised not to tell anyone.

However, he was a La Rue. Their family was under the list of people Royaume wants to eradicate. The only reason they were not executed was the fact that killing them without any reason will stir up feelings of resentment. The people of Fiamme di Guerra were well equipped, capable of fighting and could most likely take out the majority of the Royaume soldiers before going down themselves. As such, Royaume soldiers had taken to poking around in every nook and cranny, looking for reasons to try them for treason. If they were tried and executed for treason, not all of the people of Fiamme di Guerra might fight back. There would not be enough resentment and hatred, a real reason for them to start a revolt.

Macaria was a lady, anyone could see that. She was also good in combat and well versed in the art of diplomacy. She was almost too good to be true. Sure, she could not ride a horse well and, while she could coexist with her wolf, the hounds they kept absolutely hated her. She had no history, though. No family, no background, nothing. It made her suspicious. It made it hard for Frank to trust her, no matter how much he wants to.

* * *

Chris was really exasperated. Travis refused to stop pestering him as he apparently could not understand why everyone was in such a scramble over the welcome assembly for the La Rue party. According to him, they were supposed to be the enemy, so there was no need to treat them well. Both him and Connor were bemoaning the fact that they were not the ones in charge. They then spend the remaining time whining about the clothes they were dressed in and that they were expected to actually be present this time. Suffice to say, Chris was not in the best of moods when the La Rues arrived.

This was their first diplomatic envoy since Ares had passed away and it would be their first time meeting the new head of the household, Eros. Before this, it had always been only Ares and Aphrodite.

When the group arrived, Chris was pretty sure that this was the wrong group. At least, he did not expect Eros to bring his whole family along. There were nineteen people - and a wolf. He had heard rumours about how the Eros' wife kept a wolf for a pet, but he had passed it off as just a tale. This was supported by the fact that he had never seen any wolves there when he attended the wedding seven years ago. That was the first and the last time he had visited the La Rue household's home. It would appear that he was wrong.

He was not the only one who had noticed the wolf. Travis and Connor were both eyeing it with something suspiciously like glee in their eyes. 'I need to warn them about the consequences of playing with dangerous animals,' Chris thought. He was not entirely sure if the wolf was tame and he did not want to take risks.

After Eros dismounted, he helped his wife - Macaria - dismount. She was regal and beautiful, with a subtle air of deadly grace. Just like her wolf, a majestic creature who moved with an elegance Chris did not thought was possible, winding its way through the horses to stand at attention beside her. Chris decided, after one look at her (and her wolf), that this was someone she did not want as an enemy.

Chris watched as Eros introduced the people he brought along. The guards had stood way back. The remaining had dismounted and stood in a neat row. The first to be introduced was a girl with shoulder-length black hair and electric blue eyes. She stood with her head held aloof, as though she was someone of a higher station. There was something about her that makes one think of an ice sculpture - cold, untouchable and beautiful. From the rumours spread around, she was good with spears and shields. Her name was Thalia Grace.

Her brother, Jason Grace, looked completely different from her - he had cropped blonde hair and while his eyes were also an electric blue, they were less… stormy than his sisters'. He was also a lot friendlier, at least, he did not radiate that 'touch me and you will regret it' aura his sister and one of the other girls do. That girl in question was a big, tall girl with long, stringy light brown hair and brown eyes. She looked like she could snap any of them in half should she choose to. She made Chris very wary. According to Eros, she was fourteen. She looked angry, but that could be her default look.

Her sister, Piper, had chocolate brown hair that was cut unevenly with thin strands braided on either side of her hair and eyes that change colour like a kaleidescope, going from brown to blue to green. Her skin was dark and tanned. She was beautiful. Actually, as far as Chris was concerned, all the girls in this household were beautiful. And definitely at least a little dangerous. The people of Fiamme di Guerra were known for their combat skills, after all, and the La Rues were their ruler.

The youngest there was Frank, a somewhat large and stocky boy with a slightly babyish face. He stood at attention, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. Chris decided immediately that, out of everyone in the family, he was the least threatening.

* * *

Olympus was really a ruin. Leo was almost horrified by the destruction the fire had caused. Looking at what was left, though, it was not actually that hard to picture how this place must have looked like before the fire. He still did not understand why they had to stop here, but he was almost glad that they did. He had heard so much about this city, he would not have believed it was destructible if he had not came down here to see it for himself.

The Beauregardes obviously shared his sentiments. The caravan leader had warned them to be careful when they wander around as there would be Royaume soldiers patrolling. They knew that they would be executed if they were caught, and that was incentive enough for them to be extra cautious.

Leo had left the girls behind somewhere and set out for the Wall, to see if it was as legend had painted it out to be. He could see the outline of it, but he wanted to be there, at the foot of the Wall, if only to say that he had accomplished something none of his siblings had accomplished yet.

He wondered if the Wall really was home to a group of people who were silent and fast and deadly too. The NightWatch, they were called. Many had spoken about them, and they were told as myths, legends. However, of all the stories he was told, this legend was the only one that seemed believable.

It says that the NightWatch is like the male version of Artemis' Hunters.

To join Artemis' Hunters, one must swear an oath to forsake marriage, their titles, their families and take the others in the Hunt as sisters. They defend the people of the land from criminals and the unjust, a group of vigilantes that the Royaume people were unable to catch. To join the NightWatch, one must also swear an oath to forsake marriage, their lands, their titles and their families, taking in the others in the NightWatch as brothers. However, they defend the people of the land from wild tribesmen and dangers on the other side of the Wall by guarding the Wall. The main difference, though, was that while people knew that the Hunters of Artemis existed, only a handful believe that the NightWatch is real.

Leo is inclined to be part of the minority. Who knows, maybe he could join them some day? Then he would be like his sister, Bast, except way better, because his sister was a vigilante, but he would be a legend. A myth. Like the heroes he read about. Just, hopefully, without the 'dying young' part.

Maybe he could persuade these people to teach him to use a sword. Then, he would know a bit more other than to "run them through with it" and "whack them on the head with the flat side of the blade". Probably. With his luck, though, he could possibly be the first one that these legends could not drill the basic sword-fighting skills into. Maybe his name will go down in their history for that.

That was probably around the time when he felt someone, or something, staring at his back. When he turned around, there was no one. He started to feel uneasy. Trying to ignore it, he went on. Then he noticed that something was wrong about this particular area. This place was the remnant of a forest. Unlike before, where there were remnants of buildings, there was nothing here except for a layer of ash, as it should be. Some plants had managed to grow, somehow, so there were saplings sprouting here and there. Here and there, there was a couple of small trees that could be around fourteen years old. There was a particularly dense patch of trees and saplings west to where he was standing. That was not what caught his attention.

At the edge of the clearing, there was half a set of paw prints. The likes of which he had only ever seen before once, when he was visiting the La Rues with his family. He remembered because Auguste had left a very lasting impression on him.

'What did I get myself into?'

* * *

_ I just realised that when planning this story, Annabeth was completely left out. Because I already have the basic plot materials up to chapter ten or so, she will only start getting her own narrations and make an actual appearance then. I'll try to make mentions of her to make up for it. Sorry!_

_Oh, and is it really that hard to figure out who the two unknown people in the previous chapter was? I really hope not. With the thing about NightWatch and Artemis' Hunters, I just realised that they were pretty much a reflection of each other. Except that the Hunters get immortality, and the NightWatch people does not. In this story they are even, though. With the last scene, I guess I went overboard with the "feels like something is looking at you" thing. I mean, twice with Percy and now with Leo. There wasn't really a lot of different ways to introduce _ though... Three guesses what Leo really encountered?_


End file.
